Hotel chain Marriott International will open its first hotel in Haiti: the $45 million, 173-room Port-au-Prince Marriott, the company announced in a deal linked to former President Clinton and his economic development foundation.

The new hotel will be run by Marriott and owned by a unit of Digicel Group, the biggest phone company in the Caribbean nation. Construction is expected to begin next year and finish in mid-2014, executives said.

Port-au-Prince has only about 500 hotel rooms operating now, too few to handle all the travelers to the capital city, including people working on reconstruction projects after Haiti’s devastating earthquake last year.

The Clinton Foundation worked closely with Marriott and Digicel to develop the hotel venture. The Foundation connected the two companies, visited proposed construction sites with them and facilitated introductions to the Haitian government and the Haitian Tourism Association, according to a statement this week.

“This new hotel project will stand as a symbol of Haiti’s recovery, providing much needed jobs to the Haitian people and encouraging foreigners to visit, invest and work in Port-au-Prince,” former President Clinton said in the statement. The investment shows that ”Haiti is open for business and on the path to economic recovery,” said Clinton.

Digicel is the largest private investor in Haiti. It is led by Irish businessman Denis O’Brien. O’Brien’s Digicel Foundation has been working with Clinton on Haiti reconstruction and helped rebuild the iconic Iron Market in Port-au-Prince.

Marriott also has been helping with earthquake relief. The Harbor Beach Marriott Resort & Spa in Fort Lauderdale, which has about 250 Haitian employees, took part in two missions to Haiti, delivering clothing and other supplies, helping rebuild homes and schools and providing other support. Associates of Marriott’s South Florida hotels raised $200,000 to support Haitian recovery efforts. And in 2010, the J. Willard and Alice Marriott Foundation contributed $500,000 to the Red Cross for immediate earthquake relief and resettlement efforts.

The new Port-au-Prince Marriott will be located in the Haute Turgeau area of the city It will feature 168 rooms and five suites with such amenities as high-speed Internet, flat-screen televisions and 24-hour room service. It also will include nearly 5,000 square feet of meeting space, a fitness center and swimming pool.